EU to establish treaty relations with Ukraine under Hague Judgements Convention

MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union announced on Monday that EU member countries had agreed to establish treaty relations with Ukraine in the framework of the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, also known as the Judgements Convention.

"With this decision to recognize and enforce each other's judgments the ties between the EU and Ukraine will only become stronger," Ukrainian media quoted Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer as saying in a statement.

The Judgements Convention, which was signed in 2019, is an international treaty that creates conditions for contracting states to recognize and enforce judgements in civil and commercial matters handed down by other signatory states.

In 2022, Ukraine ratified the convention, under which treaty relations between Ukraine and the EU will be established on 1 September 2023 unless either of them objects to them, according to the Council of the EU communique.

EU member states consider that there are no fundamental obstacles, such as related to the independence and efficiency of the judiciary, the fight against corruption or the respect of fundamental rights, which could prevent the EU from entering into treaty relations with Ukraine.

The convention was signed on July 2, 2019. It will enter into force on September 1, 2023.